Adult Telephone Protocols: Office Version

by David A. Thompson

Overview

Now in it's 5th edition, this powerful decision-support tool will guide triagers thorough each call with the same step-by-step checklist organization and ease-of-use features as its companion resource, Pediatric Telephone Protocols. This comprehensive resource includes protocols that cover 95% of the most common adult complaints. Look here for triage guidelines ranging from everyday problems such as back pain, insect bites, and sunburn to more serious conditions such as breathing difficulty, seizures, and wound care.
 
KEY FEATURES

• Completely updated and revised
• 6 new protocols—Anxiety and Panic Attack, Breast Symptoms, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Flank Pain, Hip Pain, and Shoulder Pain
• Triage guidance updated to include video visit options

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610025614
Publisher:	American Academy of Pediatrics
Publication date:	12/01/2021
Edition description:	5th ed.
Pages:	575
Sales rank:	75,029
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

David Thompson, MD, FACEP, has over 20 years of experience working in telehealth and clinical informatics. He has developed a comprehensive set of telehealth triage protocols for adult and women’s health that are used in medical call centers and doctors’ offices in the United States, Canada, and internationally. These telehealth triage protocols are available in electronic health records and triage software. He has authored or led clinical content development used in artificial-intelligence, symptom-checker, health-bot, consumer-engagement, and telemedicine applications.
 
Dr. Thompson received a Bachelor of Science in engineering from the University of Illinois, where he subsequently earned his medical degree. He is board-certified in both internal medicine and emergency medicine, having completed a dual residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at Northwestern University. He is a Fellow in the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Thompson is a Health System Clinician of Emergency Medicine at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Prior to working at Northwestern Memorial, Dr. Thompson worked in the MacNeal Hospital Emergency Department, where he served as medical director and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, and also provided medical direction over the medical call center.
 
Dr. Thompson is co-founder of Schmitt-Thompson Clinical Content, LLC. Dr. Thompson was founder and CEO of Health Navigator, LLC. He was the principal architect of the Health Navigator clinical vocabulary, natural-language processing engine, and decision-support tools. Dr. Thompson lectures in the areas of digital health, telephone triage, physician documentation, medical coding, and patient satisfaction.
 
 

Table of Contents

A
Abdominal Pain (Female)
Abdominal Pain (Male)
Abdominal Pain (Menstrual Cramps)
Abdominal Pain (Upper)
Alcohol Abuse and Dependence
Anaphylaxis
Animal Bite
Ankle and Foot Injury
Ankle Pain
Arm Pain
Asthma Attack
Athlete’s Foot
 
B
Back Injury
Back Pain
Bee or Yellow Jacket Sting
Breast Symptoms
Breathing Difficulty
Burns
 
C
Cast Symptoms and Questions
Chest Injury
Chest Pain
Cold Sores (Fever Blisters of Lip)
Common Cold
Confusion (Delirium)
Constipation
Coronavirus (COVID-19), Diagnosed or Suspected
Cough
 
D
Depression
Diabetes (High Blood Sugar)
Diabetes (Low Blood Sugar)
Diarrhea
Dizziness
 
E
Ear, Swimmer’s
Earache
Elbow Injury
Elbow Pain
Eye, Chemical In
Eye, Foreign Body
Eye, Pus or Discharge
Eye, Red Without Pus
Eye Injury
 
F
Fainting
Fever
Finger Injury
Finger Pain
Flank Pain
Foot Pain
 
H
Hand and Wrist Injury
Hand and Wrist Pain
Head Injury
Headache
Heart Rate and Heartbeat Questions
Heat Exposure (Heat Exhaustion and Heatstroke)
High Blood Pressure
Hip Injury
Hip Pain
Hives
 
I
Immunization Reactions
Influenza, Seasonal
Influenza Exposure
Influenza Follow-up Call
Insect Bite
 
J
Jock Itch
K
Knee Injury
Knee Pain
 
L
Leg Pain
Leg Swelling and Edema
Lymph Nodes, Swollen
 
M
Menstrual Period, Missed or Late
Mouth Injury
 
N
Nasal Allergies (Hay Fever)
Neck Injury
Neck Pain or Stiffness
Neurologic Deficit
Nose Injury
Nosebleed
 
P
Penis and Scrotum Symptoms
Poison Ivy/Oak/Sumac
Poisoning
Puncture Wound
 
R
Rash, Widespread on Drugs
Rash or Redness, Localized
Rash or Redness, Widespread
Rectal Bleeding
Rectal Symptoms
 
S
Seizure
Sexual Assault or Rape
Shoulder Injury
Shoulder Pain
Sinus Pain or Congestion
Skin, Foreign Body
Skin Injury
Skin Lesion (Moles or Growths)
Sore Throat
Spider Bite (North America)
STI Exposure and Prevention
Substance Use, Intoxication, and Withdrawal
Suicide Concerns
Sunburn
Suture or Staple Questions
 
T
Tick Bite
Toe Injury
Tooth Injury
Toothache
 
U
Urinalysis Results Follow-up Call
Urination Pain (Female)
Urination Pain (Male)
Urine, Blood In
 
V
Vaginal Bleeding, Abnormal
Vaginal Discharge
Vomiting
Vulvar Symptoms
 
W
Weakness (Generalized) and Fatigue
Wound Infection
 

 

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Cooper L Nickel, Doctor of Medicine(University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita)
Description: This book covers common topics typically encountered in adult outpatient medical practices. This fifth edition expands upon previous editions while introducing new topics, most notably those related to COVID-19. The guidance provided allows for quick decision making regarding the patient's disposition by ancillary and nursing staff. The precursor to this edition was published in 2018.
Purpose: This book is designed to provide a structure for handling phone calls and fill medical knowledge gaps for personnel handling patient telephone inquiries. No assumptions are made regarding staff knowledge and the intention is to provide stopgap knowledge regarding most common adult complaints.
Audience: The target audience is primarily outpatient, office-based medical practices that manage patient calls and questions. Specifically, family medicine, internal medicine, geriatrics, urgent care, and emergency room office staff will benefit. The book's author is trained in both emergency and internal medicine and boasts an extensive history in telehealth. Experience and education predicate the reliable information provided by the author.
Features: The book offers go-to guidance for nursing and phone staff who serve as the first point-of-contact in patient care. It is a comprehensive guide, detailing primary symptoms and diagnosis of typical complaints. Notably, the appendix provides several practical staff handouts, detailing effective triage practices. It also includes call logs, office resource inventory/capabilities, and effective call structures.
Assessment: Overall, this book provides a comprehensive approach to common conditions, without assuming the staff's medical knowledge/skill set. Considering the broad range of medical complaints and staff experience in an adult outpatient office, the use of acronyms, such as CHF, should have been avoided. The formatting of triage assessment questions could be problematic because of the potential for the person performing triage, along with the patient, to veer off-topic. This potential increases with the placement of life-threatening emergency questions posed first, which is of course a necessity. However, the questions posed are exhaustive, covering numerous potential scenarios while offering opportunities for telemedicine visits into each call. This edition has skillfully incorporated much-needed content updates, with the introduction of new material regarding topics such as COVID-19. It should be noted that information regarding COVID-19 is evolving and runs the risk of becoming quickly outdated. However, thus is the nature of medicine, which continues to prompt the need for updates such as this one. This book provides a reliable resource for the intended audience.

Doody's Review Service

4 Stars! from Doody